Punjab: Only those who know native language can apply for group C, D govt jobs

The historic choice, according to an official statement, aims to further bolster the state’s commitment to the values of Punjab, Punjabi, and Punjabiat. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Punjab Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

“The cabinet gave nod for amending Rule 17 of Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of services) Rules, 1994 and Punjab State (Group D) Service Rules 1963 with an aim to ensure that only those candidates are appointed in the Punjab government who have in-depth knowledge of Punjabi language,” it said.

It said that in rule 17 of the Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, the first proviso, for the words “Provided that where a person”, has been replaced with “Provided that no person shall be appointed to any post in Group-‘C’ service unless he has passed a qualifying test of Punjabi language equivalent to matriculation standard with at least 50 per cent marks, to be conducted by respective recruitment agencies in addition to competitive examination.”

The Punjabi language test will be a requirement for admission, and if a candidate does not achieve at least 50% proficiency in Punjabi, they will not be included in the final merit list from which candidates will be chosen, regardless of their performance on the other exam papers.

“Similarly as per amendment in clause (d) of the Rule 5, in the Punjab State (Group-D) Service Rules, 1963, the words ‘provided that’ has been replaced with ‘Provided that no person shall be appointed to any post in any service by direct appointment unless he has passed a qualifying test of Punjabi language equivalent to middle standard with at least 50% marks..,” it said.

Other key decisions of the cabinet

The Punjab Cabinet also approved the exemption of specially designed vehicles used to transport the “Parkash” of religious scriptures from various religions in the state from Motor Vehicle Taxes (MVT) in order to show great reverence and respect for the sacred religious scriptures of every religion.

As per the official statement, there are around 25,000 such vehicles in the state which are being used for carrying the “Parkash” of religious scriptures for religious ceremonies or religious events.

According to section 13 (3) of the Punjab Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1924, the MVT for this type of vehicle is roughly ₹10,000 per year. However, the state government has chosen to exempt these automobiles from the tax.

The move is likely to cause a financial implication of about ₹20 crore to ₹25 crore to the government, it said.

The Cabinet also approved changing a rule in the Punjab Minor Minerals Rules 2013 to increase the penalty range from the current ₹5,000– ₹25,000 to ₹50,000– ₹2.5 lakh in order to stop illegal mining in the state.

(With inputs from PTI)